


A thunderstorm, a bird, and a baby

by BirdoMurdo



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:07:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24770545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BirdoMurdo/pseuds/BirdoMurdo
Summary: Grief still lingers in the air even after 10 months. 10 months since the last time Rose had spoke. Everything was difficult but the person that was heart broken the most was Pearl, the person that fought and kept Rose alive so many times.One day Garnet predicted a large thunderstorm rolling in soon. Greg has to find money and Garnet needed and had to have Sugilite on a mission. So who was left? Pearl to look after Steven.But she also took the job since she noticed everybody going easy on her, most likely since they knew she was the most depressed out of them all. But she had to prove she was a thriving independent gem, for the sake of Rose. So she takes and tackles the baby with the remains of his mother stuck on his navel.For the sake of Rose...
Kudos: 20





	A thunderstorm, a bird, and a baby

Pearl looked down at Steven. A half gem, half human child. Parents, Greg Universe and Rose Quartz. Rose Quartz… 

The 10 months old baby was held in her hands, asleep peacefully with little snorts during his dreams. He was so fragile she was always terrified she might break him. But breaking him was the least of her concerns. She needed to prove to everybody she doesn’t need Rose Quartz, that she can get over her absence.

And one of the ways to prove that was by taking care of Steven while Garnet and Amethyst needed Sugilite for a mission and Greg was busy with making money. Suddenly a loud ground shaking sound came outside of the house. The thunderstorm had started just like Garnet had predicted.

And obviously, Steven heard which in return woke him up. Now the silence has been broken, the longer Steven cries the harder it’ll be to prove she’s fine. And like a mother bird trying to protect its babies, Pearl held Steven closer until he reached her chest where she hugs him protectively and bobs Steven up and down while hoping the rain can sooth him to a point where he calms down.

Finally Steven stops but now smiling and energetic. A fast charging baby. His smile was small and fragile just like his organic body yet, his rounded face and Rose-like hair gave her a feeling of belonging. Pearl sighs and lets him down on the couch and using her gem, she sends out a baby toy for him. She had more toys obviously but he was growing teeth but she didn’t know which was useful. So like a nervous mother she bought everything the shop had to offer for baby supplies and kept them in her gem where no germs can get their grubby body onto and spoil everything. 

Steven lightly tugged the toy for Pearl to let go of. When she does he instantly goes in for the bite, attempting to chew the rubbery soft doughnut-shaped frog. He tries to nom it a bit more but slowly loses interest in it. Finally he looks back up at Pearl who watched him like all the days Pearl would watch Pink's reactions to the Quartz soldiers bursting out of the ground. 

Suddenly Steven put his stubby hands on Pearl's nose, which snapped Pearl out of her day dream. “Gaga wowo…” gurgled Steven while putting his other hand onto her nose. Pearl laughed back tiredly before picking him up and pressing his nose. The baby giggled before raising his hands and pat Pearl on the face like some dough. 

She walks across to the window where she and Steven watched the rain patter unevenly across the gloomy skies. Each strike was unpredictable and ugly, each thunderstorm terrifying and threatening. But somehow, Steven was fine and watched with admiration in his eyes as the rain patters and soaks the sand. How could he like the rain when she couldn’t? Steven had only existed for a couple of months but can already find happiness. How?

She didn’t look down at him anymore. He just sat there making bubbles with his mouth and barely hitting the window with his tiny fists. The more the rain fell down, the more it felt like an endless nightmare. Each droplet was a mistake she made in the past, each puddle reflects her stupidity. 

“Hey Steven?” She finally spoke up. But he just kept on playing around. She didn’t expect a response from him anyways. But somehow she wanted to talk to somebody about how she felt. 

“If Rose is in there tell her I said hi, and all of us really miss her.” She paused until she continued. “Steven, what would you do on an occasion like this? When it feels as if everything you’ve been building up is breaking down and everything’s drifting away?” Steven made a couple of squeaking noises.

“Heh, how would you know? You're just a baby. You wouldn’t understand this pain!” Pearl laughed painfully, eyes starting to sting. “W-what would Rose have done?” Finally, the tears fell freely. 

And like Steven could sense Pearl's pain, he attempted to hug Pearl but failed miserably. “Wawa wowo, go ga pffssss!” Steven said looking up at Pearl. Pearl finally looked down at Steven. 

And suddenly she felt as if the hole she thought could never be refilled felt like it was getting filled. It was small but she could feel the dirt slowly piling up in the hole. Finally she smiled, a happy one. Steven finally yawned and his eyelids fluttered down and within seconds, the magical little boy was asleep.

“Thank you, Steven.” Pearl murmured and put Steven in a crib. She quietly tiptoed across to the window. There she felt warm. The raindrops pattered in time like a song. And when she inspected the raindrops and puddles more closely she saw that they were all the mistakes she shouldn’t be ashamed of. She had grown and it was good she could notice them.

Finally the rain slowed down. The lightning had its last attack before disappearing to make way for the warm golden sun. The clouds were still there but the skies didn’t look dark anymore, it was a light blue. A rainbow slowly came into view as the sky got brighter and brighter. 

And like this was all meant to happen, Pearls face also grew brighter every second. Her eyes lit up with a hopeful glow and she sighed. And following the slow patter of the rain she hummed a song she heard Garnet sing once.

“But now, I’m looking forward, I’m looking forward, I’m looking forward now...”

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t know why I made this but I’m proud of it.


End file.
